The merger of computer technology and financial systems has resulted in a lessening of society's reliance upon cash transactions to pay for a variety of goods and services. Many goods and services are paid for using credit and debit cards; these cards as well as cash cards are used to purchase goods from vending machines and cafeterias. Additionally, transit systems use cash cards for access to rail and bus services.
Typically, a cashless transaction using a data card such as a cash card is initiated by a consumer purchasing a prevalued card from a salesperson or a machine. Subsequently, the cash card is used to purchase the desired good or service. For vending machine, cafeteria, or transit system use, the card is scanned in some manner by a card scanner, the prevalued amount is read, the purchase made, and the new value, i.e., prevalue minus purchase cost, is written upon the cash card. After enough purchases are made to exhaust the prevalue, the card is discarded.
A significant drawback to the current cash card systems is that the cards are used until exhausted and then discarded. In an environmentally conscious society, excess waste should not be tolerated. It would be advantageous to provide a system in which the exhausted cash cards could be revalued using either cash or credit card as the form of payment. Additionally, it would be advantageous to provide new card dispensing and exhausted card revaluing at a single convenient location.
Accordingly it can be readily appreciated that there is a need in the art for a cash card dispensing and revaluing system which enables a consumer to purchase and revalue cash cards at a single location using cash or credit as a form of payment.
In response to the need defined above, the principal objective of the present invention is to provide a single system which dispenses prevalued cards and allows revaluing using either cash or credit as payment. Alternatively or in addition to cash or credit payment methods, a consumer may be able to make payment using a debit card.